Chapter 32

Impacts

Sevarius' POV

A woman appeared in my office, clutching something. She was dirty and roughed up from a fall. It took me a moment. But I suddenly remembered everything. She was Seline. I held out my hand, the glass vial cool. There were more bubbles in the saliva than I would have liked, but it was workable.

"Is this supposed to be the father's or mother's DNA?" I asked.

"The father's." She cleaned herself up with a green flash.

Then she hummed a low melody. I had never heard anything like it before. No, that was wrong. I knew it was wrong, but where could I have such a sound before? Shari shuffled into the room, eyes glazed.

"Do you want me to take her blood or her reproductive DNA?" I asked.

She thought. "Her blood. If it is not satisfactory, then you will take her eggs."

I got out a syringe and withdrew enough to for a few samples. Shari had not reacted beyond the most basic of reflexes. It reminded me of Talia in a way. She would put on a show for Thailog, but I knew she was getting depressed. She wasn't eating and would become non responsive for hours a time.

She wasn't near the point of tube feeding, always a hassle, but her blood wasn't as good as it could have been. I did my best to clean the samples, but there was only so much I could do, even excluding the alcohol dependency. Perhaps we should increase her vitamins and put her on a special IV fluid…

Then Shari left as quietly as she had come. I turned to Seline. "Why her?"

"She is the only women in this part of the building. I do not have time to find another. My sisters can only stall for so long." She said.

"Oh, well, happy late new year then." I said as she disappeared and continued working.

Sevarius' POV End

Owen's POV

"Ok, one more time, how can we be sure it won't go rogue and what's the robot's relationship to Talia?" Elisa frowned.

Alexander hung Adriana's drawing on the clan's fridge after we had scanned and persevered it with magic. When they had woken up, he had happily explained what the drawing meant. They had… concerns. The fact Mister Xanatos was reusing Coyote 1.0's weapons did not diminish any of these. But it would not be attached to its armor like Coyote was. He wanted him to blend in with humans.

"Alexander is the prince of Avalon. His magic is stronger than Talia's. He wanted the android to protect and care for her no matter what. It will do so until it can no longer physically affect the mortal world." I felt my headache flare.

"So, when its data chips get destroyed?" Brooklyn asked.

"Possibly. It is not like other androids. This one has magic in its coding. Its DNA, so to speak. He is, for the last fu- simplicity sake, another Halfling. Which means he is loyal to Talia and Alexander." I sighed softly. They were trying, I knew they were.

"Alex made the robot, right, which means it has his magic. So, is Talia its aunt?" Detective Bluestone looked at the others.

"No, magic is not blood. It acts similar, but it is not the same. Its potency deteriorates much faster when inactive. Thus Fae blooded and magic touched mortals are more common than Halflings." I rubbed my temples. They watched me, shying away instinctual. "Your father performed in The Dance of the Coyote, yes?"

"Yeah…" Elisa narrowed her eyes. "As Coyote."

"The dance had bonded him and your father. It gave him a small bit of his magic. Had your father stayed and strengthened his spiritual connection, he would have a better bond with Coyote. You would have a stronger connection to Coyote. Instead, you are only Coyote blooded and even that is much weaker than his other Dancers' pups, children." I corrected.

"What you're saying is that how someone related to a Fae depends on the amount of magic the mortal has and how it was treated?" Lexington asked. Puck whooped for joy and I restrained him from kissing the gargoyle.

"Yes, but it gets a bit complicated because Fae are attracted to certain traits, certain groups of people. Now, as long as mortal sides of the families don't intermingle, they are not considered related. Only Fae blooded. Titania is attracted to 'fox-ish' people. Even though Alexander's magic is active, the android's relation to Titania will be weaker because half of a quarter is an eighth." I explained.

"If it was human, it'd be different." Angela said.

"Yes, then she would its aunt, but since it is made of metal, it cannot have any mortal relation to her. Thus it cannot have any relation to Alexander other than his magic. The android is her subject and his sixth cousin at most." We waited. They digested the information, each coming to their own understanding after several long minutes.

"Very well, but you will tell us everything about the robot when it is fully functional." Goliath said firmly.

"Understood." I nodded.

He and the clan left shortly after. Katana went to go teach Alexander. We collapsed onto a bar stool and rested our head. We reached out blindly, grabbing the first bottle we got. Our claws easily popped the cap off. Why did Alex have to hang up the picture of the android?

Owen/Puck's POV End

Alex's POV

"Let's see how you did on your kanji." Katana sensei looked at my paper.

I tried my best, but writing with a brush was hard. It dripped and smudged. Mommy didn't like it when I spilled and got it on my shirt.

"Only take as much ink as you need to coat the brush and do not hesitate when you raise it." She squinted. "You accidentally made a misspelling the 'kai' kanji."

"What's kai mean?" I asked.

"It means many things in many languages, but this particular one means, would mean, ocean." She said.

"What's it supposed to look like?" I asked.

Katana sensei got another piece of paper out and wrote it down. It looked like this: 海, mine had been too far apart and missing the almost all of little tails. I copied her, thick and clumsy, but it was right. I wrote down what it meant in English for Daddy and Mommy. Then we did our lesson and I practiced the new words. Then Uncle Owen came and took me to the clan's kitchen to hang up my kanji. I put it next the drawing.

"Hey, Alex, what're you doing here?" Daddy asked as I hugged him.

Alex's POV End

Xanatos' POV

"I'm hanging up my kanji." Alex pointed to the fridge.

I walked to the fridge and saw a piece of paper with a Japanese word on it next to the drawing. One was Alex's hand writing, the other, Katana's.

"Kai." I read aloud. It said that meant ocean. "Is that what you wanna name it?"

He looked at Owen. "That can be a name."

"What about his last name?" He asked.

We thought, convincing Alex not to name him Xanatos. The reason being that nobody was supposed to know that he was created by Alex and I. Everything Owen came up were oddly very dry and bland. He was normally more creative when it came to names. Carter was the only accepted one.

"Blaise. B-l-a-i-s-e." I said, spelling it out because it sounded like blaze.

"Kai Carter Blaise…" Alex thought and had Owen write it down. Then he had Alex eat a snack in the TV room, giving me a sharp look.

"So, how badly did I fuck it up?" I asked.

"Naming him has given him the ability to focus his magic, but perhaps Kai's 'mind' is too underdeveloped for him to use magic right away." Owen explained.

"What if it's not?" I frowned.

"Then we need to teach him who is our allies and enemies are. Now." He said and we barely remembered to take Alex with us.

Xanatos' POV End

Third Person

A lone robin the color of shadow, eyes unnatural jade, sat above Avalon. Its screeches ravaged her golden beaches and lush forests. The inhabitants wrought with paranoia and fear.

A fox and many women, most featureless, curled around the bird and its screeches calmed. The fox smelt of the queen's magic yet it also smelt of enchanted metal. The people regained their autonomy.

The chirps of chicks filled the air. The first few sounded normal then they started to come faster. Grow louder, as the robin took flight, until the noise became an alien roar. But it had meaning. Momma. Their 'Momma' silenced their cries as she returned, bringing more chicks with her. The flock descended.

Luna gasped for air as she came to. Sweat covered her cramping hands. Her eyes were dry and hot.

"Sister, what happened? What did you see?" Phoebe asked.

Luna disappeared and her sisters followed her. They had returned to a hospital room. Talia was strapped on the bed. Her eyes unfocused as Luna ripped the gag away. The heart monitor beeped loudly.

"Tell us how you changed the iron!" Luna snarled. "Your existence has unbalanced the natural order enough. Puck does not know what he has done by allowing you to live."

It was a few minutes before Talia answered, she was still dazed.

"If I mess up the world so much, why don't you kill me? That'll fix it, right? No, it won't. I am your princess. My impact cannot be undone." She spat angrily.

Luna seethed, silent.

"I thought so…" She nodded, rubbing her jaw. She didn't have to pretend she was trapped anymore.

"We have given you many chances to right your wrong. But no more! You will suffer the consequences of your stubbornness." Luna put the gag back on her. Then they went back to Avalon.

"Sister, what did you see?" Seline frowned.

"Her destiny." Luna growled.

Third Person End

Adri's POV

I painted over my pencil outlines with a light gray. I heard Fox walk in. She looked over the canvas.

"It's the skyline, but at different times of day. Dawn, noon, night." I explained.

"Ah. Are you busy?" She asked.

"No, why?" I washed my brush.

"I thought it was time for you to learn how to defend yourself. Talia was taking lessons, but…" She frowned. "I don't know if she kept up with them."

"I've taken a couple, but most of the instructors weren't really good with 4 foot 6 students. Don't know about Tai. I know she took some bladesmithing and blacksmithing classes at local forges. She gets really stinky." I wrinkled my nose.

"Forges as in more than one?" Fox raised her eyebrow.

"Portland's odd." I shrugged.

"Wait, why would she need to take blacksmithing classes?" She thought.

"To make iron weapons. She didn't know how manipulate iron until last year." I squeezed the extra water out and set it in the brush cup.

"I see." She nodded.

"Not only iron weapons, she made me a pair of wrist bracers. And she said it was for the malicious Children…" I added, but it was hopeless. She had the look. Iron weapons were a thing she was not supposed to have.

Fox took me the gym and I changed into workout clothes. There were no karate gi in my size. At least ones that didn't flop around. Talia had the same problem. Most of her height was in her torso. She'd reach to get something for me and her tummy would show. Tai had lost most of her tummy when we hooked back up. Fox started easy, assessing what I knew. She said I was a little above beginner. We practiced my stances and breathing. I took a shower afterward because that's what I always did.

I went to the clan's kitchen to get a snack because the big kitchen scared me. I walked to the fridge and saw a piece of paper with a Japanese word on it next to the drawing. One was Alex's hand writing, the other, I didn't know.

"Kai." I read aloud. It said that meant ocean. Then I ate some salami slices and went back to my room to paint.

Adri's POV End

Third Person

There was an electric charge around the computer. Only big enough to cover the monitor and tower. The computer slowly turned on and was unlocked. The internet was opened and then exited out of. A few other programs were opened and messed around in. Then the camera was turned on.

The camera showed nothing on screen, just a stone wall and the chair in front of the desk. On the ceiling, there was a black half dome. The laptop's camera focused on that and somehow zoomed in on it. The air buzzed as the monitor hopped a few times. The electric charge suddenly fell from the monitor and scampered across the floor. It got to the wall. A sharp sound, almost like a whine, came from it.

It paced back and forth, occasionally leaning on the wall. Then it slowly climbed up the wall. It calculated every move it made. As it was the first time it had ever done such a thing. Finally, it made it to the camera, surrounding it for a brief moment. It went through the system, pausing seemingly for no reason at times.

The charge fully stopped when it came upon an empty bedroom. It had recently been cleaned, but there were no signs of living. It wiggled out of the hidden camera. Landing carefully, it made its way around the room. It seemed fascinated with everything it found, examining them thoroughly. A light popping, whuffing filled the air until it got to the bed.

The scent of a man was the most recent. Soapy with a hint of paper. But underneath that, there was a forest scent. Avalon. The whuffing paused; it had a vague understanding of what that place was. That was where its power had come from. A human girl's scent was the second strongest. The last scent was faint, almost gone, but there. Lilac, apple spice, earth, Avalon.

Princess, Mistress. She had been here. Months ago. Where was she? The charge quickly went back in the hidden camera and searched for his Mistress.

It had found the human girl, Adriana. It remembered now. She still had some of Mistress's scent on her. Mistress must like her. She was doing something. Dipping a stick into colorful stuff and smearing it onto the white square. Mistress wasn't in the room.

The next room it found had Owen. Mistress's father, his human form. Owen was typing on a thing like it had come out of. There was a piece of paper, a picture of a man and name, next to his hand. Kai Carter Blaise. That was him, he was Kai! A high pitched yip came from the camera. Owen looked up. He quieted.

"Thailog must have planned to kidnap one of us beforehand. It has to surround by iron. We would have saved her if not." Owen muttered. "Her pain has lessened recently, but it will continue. We need to recuse her."

Mistress was in pain?! And surround by iron? That was bad, iron was bad.

"Hey, Owen, can you come look at this report for me?" David Xanatos, his creator, walked in. His prince, Alexander, was behind his father.

"Yes, sir." He stood up.

"After you look over the report, I want to go work on Kai some more. There are some things we need to add." Creator said as he closed the door.

Kai whined. His first instinct was to go save his mistress, but he didn't know where to look. He wasn't strong enough yet to go out on his own. He needed more knowledge. Creator had knowledge. He would go back to the 'lab' and let his creator and prince 'work' on him. Then perhaps he would strong enough.

With a flash of light, Kai made it back to the lab and hopped back in the strange thing he had woken up in. Yawning, Kai settled and waited for more knowledge to come.

Third Person End


I normally don't break my upload schedule, but I've had this ready for a while and I needed to share it.

Also, reviews are appreciated.